Part 2: The Stratigraphy : Trenches in the Area of the Forum, and IX D North : Forum V : Phase VII: Agricultural Activity

There are three primary features associated with this period of activity. The first, like the agricultural activity described above, is represented by massive disturbance in layers of collapse and tilled collapse. Unlike the previous activity, however, this disturbance was both more focused and more aggressive. In the northeastern part of the house, much of the broken pis» was removed entirely by a large, irregular cut that was filled with a soft, blackish soil containing few sherds (143; 152 in room F). Although the fill of this cut was different from the broken pis» in other areas, it is also possible that it represents the same sort of cultivation rather than a ditch. Another cut to the southwest seems much more clearly to have been intended to create a wide ditch. This ditch ran along the northeast wall of room G, expanding to the southeast into a wider, roughly circular cut that reopened the cistern drawshaft and part of the impluvium. The direct association of the ditch or channel with the old cistern suggests an initial use associated with water, such as drainage, irrigation, or the provision of water for livestock. Later, the ditch was used as a midden and filled in with a deposit of household refuse (62/63) consisting of both ceramic and organic material, including large numbers of animal bones. Although the ceramics from this deposit were not thoroughly studied, the presence of medieval sherds was noted by Enrico Cirelli. During this time, the cistern was also used for waste disposal. A terminus ante quem for the use of the cistern is provided by the disarticulated bones of a partial human skeleton found lying on a layer of sediment (72) within. That the cistern was still open and collecting water at this time is shown by the mineral precipitates with which the bones were encrusted; that it was no longer being frequented seems evident in the fact it was deemed an appropriate place to dispose of a body bearing signs of severe perimortal violence (see part I, p.94ff). Calibrated radiocarbon dating of the bones has yielded a date range between A.D. 950 and 1050. Probably soon after this time, the cistern opening was sealed with a pile of large stones, into which soil gradually filtered (61).

The other two features associated with this phase seem both to be of a structural nature. One took the form of a large, square cut (17) in the disturbed collapse of room D (pl. 62). This cut reused the signinum floor of D to the northwest and the last beaten-earth floor of the room to the southeast. Because the destruction levels of the house sloped gently toward the forum, the cut grew deeper to the southwest, reaching a depth of 75cm. along its southwest side. The steeper edges of the cut -- northwest, southwest and southeast -- had been packed with a rocky fill (18). Despite the lack of associated postholes, it seems likely that this cut represents the foundation of a crude, sunken-floored building, perhaps a shed or hut intended for storage or animal husbandry. The hut seems to have been constructed in a combination of wood or thatch and dry stone walling, as the cut is filled by a layer of heavy collapse (10) too rocky to indicate an all-wood building but too thin to be the result of one constructed entirely in stone. The packing along the edges of the cut was probably meant to provide extra support for a somewhat shaky superstructure. Unfortunately, like the patches of cultivated pis», the fill of this cut produced no datable ceramic evidence, and the building can only be dated to the period after the initial agricultural disturbance. The lack of any signs of human occupation Ò animal bones, pottery, metal objects Ò in this structure supports an association with animal husbandry or agricultural storage.

The third feature is very similar to the hut in D, although even more rudimentary. This feature was placed in the layers over the garden, next to and partially over the wall between the garden and room N. It consisted of a narrow, oblong cut (312) running perpendicular to the southwest wall of the garden; like the cut in D, it was packed with hard, rocky material (322 and 323) along three of its sides (southwest, northwest and northeast: see pl. 22) A nearby layer of rocky soil, mentioned above (331), may be spoil from the creation of this hut rather than in situ pis». This cut was much shallower than the cut in D, reaching a depth of only 15-25cm. It also differed from the other cut by its association with three postholes: postholes were located at the northeast and southwest corners of the cut (313 and 315, filled with 314 and 316, respectively), while a third posthole (320, filled with 319) was placed along the same line as the other two but about 1meter to the northeast of the cut. Stratigraphic equivalence makes it possible that another, irregular hole or pit (324, filled with 318) located slightly to the northeast, over the southeast wall of the garden, was also associated with this feature, but its relationship and potential function are entirely unclear. 318 produced ceramic material dating to the 5th c. A.D., and although the other fills contained only residual pottery, this material may be the key to the date of the larger feature. The feature itself, like the cut in D, seems to have been the foundation for a rough lean-to opening to the southeast, along the line of the postholes for the wooden supports. The fill of the cut (311) is a clean brown soil with no rocks, unlike the fill of the cut in D, and it seems probable that this building was constructed entirely in perishable materials. The lack of ceramic and other occupational evidence suggests that it was not a residential building, but its small size makes it difficult to interpret as an animal pen. It may have been the temporary shelter of a shepherd or a covered storage area for fodder.

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